High Alert
by Queenkiwi
Summary: It wasn’t like she was hoping for someone to think she was beautiful. Or even slightly attractive. In fact, she couldn’t care less what the male population thought about her... Except one.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

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**High Alert**

It had been awhile since she had been out of the house for anything other than shard hunting. Awhile as in about a year or so. Or should she say like- forever?

But she tried to be positive about it. After all, it was a adventure, a trip to the unknown! A chance to see and experience what no one from her time could ever even dream of.- A opportunity of a lifetime.

And the best part of it was that the big badass half demon- who shall remain nameless- was for the time being very, _very_ ,almost one hundred percent sure, dead…. No he was dead. She was pretty sure he was dead. He sure looked dead. She even poked him with a stick just to make sure- In the _eye_… Not even Naraku could play dead _that_ good.

Miroku was not going to be sucked into his own void, and was not carrying any heavy burden on his shoulder, like, you know, knowing you are going to _die. _And acting as if it wasn't so.

Sango was fine. She had made peace with her villages fate and accepted that Kohako was killed with the rest of her family, and was never meant to be resurrected.

Shippo was most likely to become a diabetic or in the best case toothless, but other wise he was fine. A little clingy sometimes, but he was so cute, she didn't care.

And if he did indeed develop a sugar disease then she could always bring him insulin… Can demons get sick from sugar? Or do they just get high?

Moving on…

Inuyasha was running around, acting busy and important. He had earned the bragging rights, but _damn! _It was getting old, "I killed Naraku singled handed with my wind scar and-_"__blah blah blah…_

Of course that wasn't the whole story, but all in all, its just to weird for anyone to actually comprehend. I mean, who knew that Naraku was highly allergic to ramen?

Okay, so Inuyasha almost died. And _okay_, they were having a picnic while he was fighting. But it wasn't their fault.

Nuhu, he had been pissed of at something and run of, and they had simply thought that he wanted to blow off some steam by cutting down trees again.

It wasn't her fault he was a bloody idiot.

But oh, she had felt guilty when she saw what state he was in afterwards.

So was it really that hard to believe that she agreed almost every time he wanted her to stay in his time to gather the remaining shards? And besides, who can say no to someone who has such cute twitching puppy ears?

And that is why she, Kagome Higurashi, never went out to party or hang out. That is why she, Ka-go-me, stayed home when she was in her time, and played games with her brother, cooked and talked about nothing with her mother, and helped her grandfather with the shrine.

That is why she, Kagome Higurashi, had absolutely no life in the 21st century.

For some teenagers in her time this would be social suicide. Not only that, but it would be an abomination. A crime against the unwritten rules of the rebellious teen. It would be going against _nature itself_.

Since she never left the house in her time just to hang out anymore, she had lost many friend because she just _sucked _at keeping in touch. Was it really that hard to pick up the phone every once in a while, her friends had wondered?

Yes, it was hard. No, more like impossible.

But that was mostly due to the fact that they didn't have phones in the feudal era. And even if they did, none of her friends would have been born yet. So it would be fairly useless.

'_Useless…'_

She was never home when they came to visit, and her grandpa would always say she was in the hospital in crucial pain or had develop a very awkward illness. Sometimes she wished he would just shut up and stick to the ones that weren't lethal _or_ sexually related.

When she was at home, all she wanted to do was to spend quality time with her family. Because you never knew when she would get back next time.

This left her social life halfdead.

It was sad really, the only friends she managed to stay in contact with was three loud mouthed girls from high school, and a boy who had longed for her for over four years.

They always tried to drag her out of the house when she wasn't supposedly sick. And she always declined.

But damn, they were persistent. Always claiming it would do her good to come out. That maybe if she got some fresh air she wouldn't fall ill as often.

'_If they only knew.'_

School was over and she didn't really have a job, unless you would call sweeping the steps of the shrine a job. It was okay, nothing to complain about. I mean it was Non-paying, but still- a job.

Sort of.

It wasn't that bad. The scenery from the steps was nice and it gave her time to think while doing simple chores, like, cleaning and being nice to visitors, and more cleaning, and did I mention cleaning? All this in the comfort of her home.

She knew she didn't really help support the family, but there was no way she could get a real job. Even if she wanted to, and she really did, she just couldn't do it.

'_Useless…'_

Try explaining to your boss that, no, you can't go to work today, because you are going to jump down a magical portal to the past and save the world.

Maybe she should put it on her application? You know, to warm them up and make them accept her huge amount of sick days?

_I am a hard working woman ready for a long term job. But I need to save the world every other week, so I'm gonna need some more time of. But I'm sure we can work it out if we put our heads together!_

And then she would catch the rabbit who was always late, and have tea with the mad hatter. After that, she would have a lovely stroll in the queens garden, merrily killing monsters and demons with her holy power. Did I mention her awesome lethal laser attack that she could shoot from her nipples? Blasting them to bits, seeing their ashes blow away into nothingness… Good times, good times.

Or she could enjoy the view of a lovely hanyou, with a jolly smile on his face, chopping of demons heads while perhaps cursing and shouting _happily_ with a colorful rainbow in the background.

Yeah, put that on her merit, and she would have a job just like _that_. With a snap of her fingers and she would be hired, dragging loads of cash to her family's doorstep.

Easy.

Piece of cake. Either that, or she would be put in a room with stuffing in the walls, and nice young men to sedate her when she got to whiny or upset.

And she was rather fond of whining, so she would be heavily drugged and be out of it 24/7.

She would live in the happy house, with rainbows, flowers, nice young men in clean white coats, and she would never even have to think about such loathsome things as jobs or bills.

'_I'm so useless…'_

Lets face it.

If you didn't count shopping for ramen, bottles of water, new heath kits, candy and other important items she wanted to bring back to the past…. So they could hunt for shards _again_. She never left the house.

But she had managed to get a leave for three days from the mighty hanyou, Inuyasha, conqueror of _all _evil.

He had made such a big deal out of it. As if she was a child asking her father if she could skip school for three days, instead of going home to her family for the first time in a month.

Or as if she was cutting off his steady supply of ramen and replaced it with a nice steady supply of vegetables. Or dog shit by the way he acted.

But she didn't have to beg at least.

Now that Naraku was dead, Inuyasha relaxed more. And by god, she was thankful. But even if he hadn't let her go, she would have. Just a couple of sits and he would agree with anything, just to make her stop. It was cruel, but sometimes he was so stubborn. Well, guess what?- So was she.

All she had to do was sense the shard so Inuyasha could go over there, hunt down, beat up, and kill whatever it was that held the shard. And voila!

The jewel would once again be whole and the quest would be over. What would happen after that, that was a problem for then. And Kagome had decided to live in the now. As in, not to think about the future and what it might bring.But right now, it felt like she was going in circles.

_My life has turned into routine. Exiting routine filled with blood and gore. _

It felt good that she, Kagome Higurashi, was now going to go out of the house to be with friends, and break that routine.

Get drunk as hell, dance, hang out, flirt with cute guys without anger management problems, drink, laugh, drink some more, flirt some more… and be a normal teenager for once.

Normal as in, _not _being covered in demon guts on a regular basis.

It was exiting! Dressing up, putting on makeup she never knew she had, putting on those heels she never thought she would use, and shaving her legs for the first time since…awhile (lets not go there).

And she finally got to use that dress her friends had insisted she'd buy, like, two years ago.

Not just any dress, but a dress with _cleavage, _baby! Kagome wasn't used to show much of _anything_… If the people in feudal Japan thought she looked indecent in her school uniform, what would they think about this outfit?

It wasn't ugly. No, not even close. It was _beautiful._ It was perfection. It was…It was the ultimate dress, the holy grail of all things beautiful..

It was simple and tight, fitting her body's curves and it brought fourth a figure even _she_ didn't know she had.

She felt feminine. Like a real_ woman_, not just like a young girl.

Kagome was nineteen now, and she had still never had a real boyfriend. She didn't have time for it. It stung, but now she could change that. _With this dress…_ The dress to success… Anything was possible.

To live in the now, and save the little social life she had left, she would do it. She was going out.

And right _now _she was standing in the bathroom, trying not to poke herself in the eye with the stupid eyeliner. The thing seemed to hate her, she was sure of it. It was shaking so badly, she could barely make a straight line. She actually had to redo it several times.

Taking a deep breath she put her makeup back in the small black bag she had retrieved it from, and surveyed her work in the mirror.

Her eyes jumped from her hair she had put up in a messy bun with strand coming to rest on her collarbone and neck. It was sleepy sexy as her friends called it. It was sprayed and smelled strongly because of it.

It wasn't an unpleasant smell, but she was sure that if Inuyasha was here, he would have a sneezing fit because of it.

She hadn't used powder or any cream on her face. She had never done it before, and she didn't have any. Asking her friends about borrowing some would just be awkward.

Maybe they would ask if she perhaps was allergic to it, considering her previously illnesses, it wouldn't surprise her on bit if they asked that question.

So here she was, mascara, eyeliner and simple lip-gloss. Frowning lightly she tilted her head and looked at her face.

She wasn't really good on the whole makeup thing, but she did alright. Sticking to the basic she managed to succeed in her desired look.

Lazy- not caring.

The, I-did-it-because-I-was-bored-but I'm-still-hot-look.

Because Kagome did so not care what she looked like.

It wasn't like she was hoping for someone to think she was beautiful. Or even slightly attractive. In fact, she couldn't care less what the male population thought about her. Yeah, that's right!

Because she didn't crave any sort of reassurance or sweet words… Though a boyfriend would have been nice.

'_I am strong and know what I am made of! One hundred percent kick-ass-miko! Grrr…'_

That and she was wearing the holy grail- her super sexy dress. It would totally kick the other girls asses if she entered one of those stupid contests.

Even though she kept repeating that in her head, she felt like throwing up any minute. Her stomach was twisting in painful knots and filled with butterflies, and her whole body was prepared to run any minute. She was so tense, she was almost afraid she would freeze up and black out.

It was hard to breathe, almost as if she was having the beginning of a panic attack.

'_I can do this. I can do this…I can-'_

Brazing herself on the sink, she lowered her head and took deep stuttering breaths.

She was going out, and she was going to have fun, dammit!

It was with her friends. Her good old buddies from high school. Nothing to worry about. Nothing new, so why was she feeling as if it was the last battle with Naraku- the devil himself?

'_Useless, I am so…'_

"Kagome, dear"? Her mother called and knocked on her bedroom door. She had a private bathroom linked to her room, it was small, but it was a blessing.

"I'm in the bathroom" She called back not wanting to worry her mother. Staring at the bathroom floor she did her best to ignore the thing clawing at her insides, trying to dig itself out. Blocking it out and instead concentrating on the small sounds her mother was doing. The creaking floor and the movement of fabric, she almost felt normal.

"Okay dear, but your friend is on the phone".

Kagome straightened, pulled at her dress and walked out to open the door, "Who is it"?, she revealed her mother and her soft smile. "It's Yuka".

Kagome smiled back at her mother and tried to pull herself together and get her heart beat back to normal. "Kagome, you look stunning", her mothers smile broadened as she saw her daughter. "Really"? She twisted her hands nervously and looked up at her mother shyly.

Her mother nodded "Of course, you look just like your mother in her wilder days". "Mom"! Kagome laughed nervously and felt some of the tension leave her stiff shoulders.

"Oh, but you do, Kagome. My girl is all grown up. I should probably send a stick with you". She rested her head in her palm, face troubled. "A…a stick"? Kagome blinked.

"To fend of the boys".

Blushing she looked at her feat "I hope it won't come to that! But don't worry, I know how to take care of myself". Wow, that was the understatement of the year.

All that demon hunting, and _killing_ must have left some positive side effects.

'_Kick-ass-miko! GRRRRR….'_

"I know. But its in a mothers nature to be worried".

"Thanks mom".

"Oh, I believe Yuka is still waiting for you"! Clasping her hands she moved as if not to stand in Kagomes way so that she could pass without bumping into her.

"Right"! Kagome bounced to her bed, grabbed her purse and spun on her heel to the door. Giving her mom a peck on the cheek she then rushed down the stairs.

"Have fun, dear"

"Right! I will"

Chuckling she added "But, if I recall correctly, when I was young I also had the sense to not have _to _much fun".

But this was lost to Kagome, for she was already stomping down the stairs. Entering the kitchen she chatted with Yuka, exchanging a few words, then ran out the door calling a quick "Bye" before slamming it shut and getting into a small car at the front yard.

Her mother made it just in time to see the car speed of into the night by looking out of the kitchen window.

"Have fun, Kagome. God knows, you deserve it". Her smile faded, and suddenly, her eyes grew so old and weary "You deserve it"…

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Notes: Stay tuned for the wild night out next week. Same channel, same time!


	2. Not my element

Disclaimer: I still don't own Inuyasha….

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**High Alert**

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"Hey! More drinks over here! PRONTO"!

The guests were loud, the music was wild and constantly changed the beat, forcing the crowd to quicken their pace. Body's were sweating and moving to the given tempo with another person as an extension of their body- it was more like sex than dancing.

And god knows, the place was packed.

The bartender acted like ice, never changing his facial expression while they shouted orders his way. Expertly he spun the bottle and pored drinks, never breaking a sweat.

"I want a fucking Orgasm! No, wait! Just give me whatever she's having"!, some guy screamed his way while pointing at a large red drink clutched in a girls hand. The bartender simply glanced at it, reached for a bunch of bottled and mixed them together.

Setting it on the shiny black surface of the counter where it was quickly snagged by the man who ordered it, he then took the next order being screamed his way.

Kagome had no idea how he could work here under the stress of alcoholics screaming and pushing up the counter, arms stretched out with dollar bills in their hands, demanding immediate attention.

It was a mixed crowd of men and women, all dressed up to max and looking their best.

Well, almost everyone anyway. There was a shady fellow in the front with heavy makeup on his face and weird tattoos on his arms. The makeup would have been pretty awesome of it weren't for the fact that someone had thrown a drink at his face.

The man didn't look to happy either.

It was no easy task to break through the crowd formed around the bar, and a poor guy who had recently and happily received his drink, learnt this the hard way when a woman waived at her friends screaming "I'm over here". All that waiving had his drink smacked from his hand and splashed all over a big bulky guy with a short fuse..

Naturally, the man with the ruined makeup who only stood a few inches away looked relieved. Apparently this kind of thing happened to him often.

To bad the bulky guy full of alcoholic beverage, that he would have preferred to have in his mouth, was not aware of this fact. In fact, he took it like a insult to his person and demanded revenge.

The rest of that little escapade, Kagome chose not to watch.

Lets just say that the safety guards could handle it.

Instead she watched the dance floor in astonishment.

It smelled like smoke from the machines that would occasionally let small puffs emerge from hidden pipes under the boards, and it created a mystical and sensual picture when the dancing men and women swirled in it, with the light giving it an eerie glow- it almost seemed as something not of this world.

The light changed direction and blinked under the changes of the pace making it appeared as if a film was hacking, so if a person jumped, it would appear as if they were frozen in place.

Beautiful and slightly lose looking girls stumbled by their table, loudly laughing, and giving ear pitching squeals leaving a ringing sounds in her ears. Apparently one of them had a little to much to drink, because she ended up on her butt, dragging one of her friends half way with her. They didn't seem to mind much though. Instead they giggles like little schoolgirls high on heroine, which they probably were, Kagome thought absentmindedly as she watched a middle aged man making his way toward them, giving them a hand, and at the same time giving himself the green flag and grabbing the girls butt when he hoisted her up, sliding her over his body while doing so.

It ended up as a awkward dance between the two involving a lot of touching, but Kagome was blushing to much to watch.

Eri and Yuka was busy screaming over their loss of alcohol, bitching and shouting curses. It seemed Eri was a mean drunk, while Yuka was a emotional one.

One of them was cursing over the laud music, making it impossible for her to place her order, and the other one was sending her love to everyone around the table. As in, slobbering all over their faces, hanging over there necks and saying "I love you guys" over and over again.

Some guy was trying to drag Ayumi over to the dance floor, and she was desperately trying to pull away, smiling and politely saying that she didn't feel like dancing. When he just laughed and pulled at her anyway. Kagome didn't know what to do, but thankfully Eri and Yuka saved the day. Well, at least they tried to.

He was grabbing a little to hard and the girls noticed this when they looked at her face. Eri, who was by now well on her fifth drink, wanted to make him let go and gave him a smack on the arm. But poor intoxicated Eri didn't really care exactly _were_ she got to hit him, as long as she did.

Oh, she did get him all right. On his newly tattooed arm.

Eri has recently grown really long and shiny nails.

She is very proud over them and always takes really good care of them. She didn't mean to make her thump nail to stab him in the arm. Especially not on the newly tattooed spot which was still in a protective bandage.

But when she did, and he screamed, she was shocked and retreated her arm a little to quickly, smacking Yuka on her left breast.

Yuka, who was just having drink number six, felt violated.

Seeing as he was the only male around to smack around, she went with her first impulse and threw her drink in his face. Seeing as the male was now wet, in pain, unhappy and punished for his horrible crime, which she was pretty sure he committed, she vomited on the floor.

This gave the expected _"Eeeeeeeew"_response from every one around the tale.

Kagome was shocked but took pity on the girl and held back her hair as she retched on the floor by Ayumis feet.

The only one happy, was Ayumi. She was saved.

Sure, she wished someone could save her shoes as well, but she was to happy to complain and instead threw herself in Eris arms while giggling like mad "That was awesome"!

Now it was twenty minutes later. They had changed boot and made Yuka wash up in the bathroom. Hojo had yet to make an appearance.

Both Eri and Yuka had visited the dance floor several times, but poor old shy Kagome had been sitting stiffer than a woman with a stick up her ass the whole night.

Ayumi was still there to because she was slightly put of by what she called "stupid men who didn't take no for an answer".

Kagome was just not used to clubs and wasn't really feeling all that comfortable.

She thought she was okay with it, but the crowd was slowly getting to her.

Staying close to Ayumi she felt a little better, but kind of silly for hiding behind her friend. It was a night club, she was dressed for the occasion, there was alcohol and men around….She should be happy, she should be overjoyed by these blessed circumstances, but she found herself feeling clumsy, awkward and awfully shy around strangers.

After Ayumi "men are crap declaration" she had settled down a bit and was currently telling Kagome about the importance of friendship.

"And you know, my friend Anne was like so furious that she took a chair and banged it repeatedly against the guys head! I had to pull her away, but she was still screeching at him and tried to kick him in the head".

"Wait, what? Wasn't he unconscious"? Kagome half shouted over the small table they had claimed as their own. '_There is way to many people here. I can barely even hear my own thoughts'_

"No, that's the weird thing! He was so mad he even tried to stand up again even after her heel almost crushed his head"! Ayumi said and took another sip of her drink and stole a quick glance over Kagomes shoulder.

"Wow, and all that just because he had stolen your peanut snacks"? '_Psycho maniac woman beating a defenseless guy over a bag of peanuts? What's the world coming to?_

Setting her drink on the table, Ayumi leaned closer to make it easier to hear. "I know it sound weird but she has always been very protective when it comes to family and friends. But you know, I still visit her in jail every wee_k"._

"…Protective? So this has happened before"? '_Oh my god!_

_How the hell can she tell me such a heartwarming story with that smile constantly on her face?'_

"Well yeah. I have a bunch of stories", looking for her purse she turned her head and gave a sideway glance "but lets save that for later. I've gotta go".

"What? Where are you going"?

Gathering her things she looked at Kagome in a slightly annoyed matter "Good god, Kagome! Lighten up! I'm not gonna leave you, I just need to go to the bathroom"!

"Oh…You want me to go with you? '_Say yes, say yes, say YES'_

"Nah, I saw a cute guy over in the bathroom line"…

"What happened with the "guy's only want one thing" speech you told me earlier"?

But Ayumi wasn't listening. Instead she was making her way over to the striking looking man standing in line to access the blessed room called the bathroom so he could empty his bladder.

How romantic.

Now, being all alone after almost twenty minutes of talks about how men cannot be trusted and beautiful friendship, she felt betrayed.

Not just a little so either. I mean, here she was, all alone in a night club where she felt extremely out of place, not to mention the fact all the people who had gone out of their way to drag her out of the house were nowhere to be seen.

'_Just stay cool. You can deal with this. No problem! One hundred percent kick-ass miko, remember?'_

"Right"! After this little peep talk to herself, she stopped manhandling the napkin on the table (it was shredded and very much dead now), and stood up with her eyes on her target.

_She was doing it! She was going! She was going!_

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A man standing with his back to her grew quite annoyed when his friend started banging his hand into his arm repeatedly. It was actually starting to hurt! And he didn't like pain.

Beside, he didn't want a ugly bruise on his beautiful skin.

"Hey! Hey, man! Check it out! I think it's"…

_Bang bang bang bang_

"Hey, look! Look"!

_Bang bang bang bang_

"It right this time! I swear"!

_Bang bang bang bang_

"WHAT?! What is is"?

"It_'s her"_!

"Huh"? Turning his head to see what his friend was staring at, he had the surprise of his life. His eyes widened and he almost dropped his glass on the ground to shatter into a thousand pieces.

"This is it! This is…this is the one thing I have been…! Oh my god"!

He grinned excitedly and turned to the counter where he took his drink in one swig and banged the glass onto the clean shiny surface.

His friend hurriedly grabbed his sleeve and whispered I his ear, "We only have one chance. If we succeed than that _thing_ is out of our lives forever"!

Rolling his eyes he barked "It's not a thing! My father worked for centuries trying to create the perfect"-

"-the perfect end product, I know. But that invention has ruined my life, and I'll be damned if I'll let it ruin the rest of my days as well"

"Fine", with an angered expression he forcefully pulled his arm from his friends grasp and looked ahead of him with determination.

It was time to prepare his fathers invention for another test drive. The question was, would it work? And will she cooperate?

If not, he had a few tricks up his sleeve.

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Another smashing chapter of "High Alert"!

I know what you're thinking. "Hey, they are nineteen! They can't drink"!

Well, lets pretend that Japan changed the law this year. Problem solved!

I am sorry, I really didn't want to cut it there, but the story seemed to beg me to do so. And who am I to say no?


	3. Ch 3 Searching for you

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha

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**Last time:**

"_It's not a thing! My father worked for centuries trying to create the perfect"-_

"_-the perfect end product, I know. But that invention has ruined my life, and I'll be damned if I'll let it ruin the rest of my days as well"_

"_Fine", with an angered expression he forcefully pulled his arm from his friends grasp and looked ahead of him with determination._

_It was time to prepare his fathers invention for another test drive. The question was, would it work? And will she cooperate?_

_If not, he had a few tricks up his sleeve. _

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**High Alert**

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"Ayumi! Have you seen Kagome? I have been looking everywhere for her, but she's gone! "

Turning away from the blond grinning hunk of man meat standing in front of her, Ayumi faced Eri with a frown on her face. "What do you mean? She is sitting right "she raised her hand to point to Kagomes abandoned chair "there…"?

She blinked and looked left and right before stating the obvious. "She is gone".

"No shit, Einstein! Hojo just messaged me", Eri flipped open her phone and held it in front Ayumi's face so she could see the small text. "He got into a little brawl just outside and want to crash at your place tonight. So we better find her and scoot"!

Flipping her cell phone closed with a little snap of her hand, she placed it down in her handbag and raised her eyebrow at Ayumi when she grabbed the blond guys hand and practically whined "But I thought you guys were gonna stay at Hojo's place tonight".

"I know. But it seems he doesn't want to go home. He's been drinking. You know how he gets". Eri didn't miss the "you guys" comment instead of "us" and had no doubt in her mind about what Ayumi had planned with the guy holding her hand.

"Fine, but Kane is coming with us! He is half American you know", Ayumi added as she smiled up at him adoringly and clung to his side, holding his arm in a vice grip. She barely even noticing the fact that he seemed to fidget as he gave her a very nervous smile back. Oh, he was so cute being shy! He was a keeper all right.

Eri looked annoyed but didn't say anything about her irritation with the situation. "I called Yuka awhile ago and she said she was hiding in the bathroom from a guy who bought her a drink. We should get her first so she won't get in trouble".

"Not again! What is with that girl"?

"I know, but she promised me to stay put and not to try crawling through the window to make her escape", Eri laughed at this but Ayumi had no doubt in her mind that Yuka might actually try to go thru with it. "I can go get her. I was on my way there anyway…."

"Good! Then I'll just have to find little miss troublemaker".

"You do that! And you can count on us to take care of miss toilette"! Ayumi said and gave Eri a halfhearted salute.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna look for Kagome now", ignoring the last statement, Eri pointed at the couple and added "you behave yourselves while I'm gone".

"Don't worry about it. I've got it covered", Kane said as he placed his arm around Ayumis shoulder, suppressing his nerves and trying to act manly and confident to impress the girl.

Ayumi just giggled and playfully smacked his arm "Oh, stop it"!

Kanes lopsided smile widened and he leaned in to whisper in her ear making her face flush and her eyes to get twice as big as usual.

To say she was delighted was an understatement.

Eri, who had had enough by now rolled her eyes and made her opinion known "Get a room"! And with that said she turned around to search for someone who wasn't controlled by her hormones.

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You remember that awkward feeling you could have as a kid? The one when you feel like you should be doing whatever you're doing in a different way, because you are doing it wrong?

Just like when you're standing in front of the whole class holding a speech, and you just can't seem to stop stuttering. And you can see your teacher sitting in the back, watching you fail.

And the fact that someone is watching you while you are doing it in the wrong way, shaking their heads and just wishing you would finish so that they wouldn't have to watch that crap…?

Her brain was trying desperately to give her a hint by replaying bad memories and sending her signals, telling her to get the hell away from the dance floor ... To bad Kagome never was all that good at using her head.

Standing in the middle of the dancing crowd was a one hundred percent kick-as-miko. Currently swaying her hips and placing her hands above her head in what she hoped was a relaxed pose. To bad that the rest of her wasn't moving. As if that wasn't bad enough, she couldn't seem to find the rhythm in the music.

Feeling a little sloppy and slow in her movements from the alcohol she had in her veins, she tried to move to the beat with her body that was showing no willingness to cooperate or to be reasonable. No matter how much she begged her limbs to move gracefully or sexy, they just didn't give a damn and were hell bent on giving her a hard time being jerky and suddenly uncooperative.

Closing her eyes and trying to listen to the music she made a second attempt at success on the dance floor.

Her eyebrows went down in a frown as she concentrated. She relaxed her arms, letting her hands map her body as they went down her sides. When she got to her hips she let them gently rest while they changed their moving pattern.

When the beat quickened and the volume seemed to grow even higher she jolted to the side and gave into the feeling of the atmosphere.

It was warm. It was fast. It was intense. It was wonderful and free!

That was how she would describe it, and the joy she was feeling at the moment made her intoxicated mind dance with glee.

'_I am dancing! I can dance!'_

Her brain was being to busy being giddy and relieved that it's body wasn't making a fool out of itself anymore, so at first, it didn't register the fact that someone grabbed her from behind, slipped his hand over her stomach just above her very private parts, and pushed her against his crotch.

She was engulfed in the smell of aftershave and could feel every inch of him at her back. Looking down she saw a pair of arms with nicely corded muscles and big hands spread over her belly and hip. Her first thought was "nice" and her second thought was "captured" leading to her final thought, "bad".

Suddenly her brain wasn't so giddy anymore.

Someone breathed in her ear and she could feel his smile against her temple as he held her in place and leaned a little over her shoulder so that she could barely see his profile.

"My, what do we have here?" A very masculine voice asked her in a lazy tone as his hold on her tightened and he ground into her from behind in a playful manner.

'_Huh, well this has never happened before…'_

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"Did you find her"? He asked as his friend slumped down on a chair beside him by the bar.

"_Did you find her_", he imitated in an annoyingly high pitched voice. "NO, I did not find her! Does it look as if I found her"?, he practically roared as he gestured with his arms wildly flinging in the empty space at his side, his voice taking on a nearly desperate tone "Can you see her standing by me?! Can you?! Cause I can't"!

"Calm down! I just asked a question, man! This is embarrassing…calm yourself and stop yelling".

"Calm down? Calm down?! This is hopeless! She has probably left by now"! He looked angry and annoyed when he shouted for the bartender, but the poor man still took his order even if he looked a little peeved with his treatment. But when he added "make it a double!", his voice sounded so pathetic the bartender didn't even bother to make a snide comment about the mans rugged appearance.

"Hey, man…Kichiro, what happened to your eye"?

It was beginning to swell and some color was showing to. It must hurt like hell, but he didn't show any signs of feeling it. Instead he gulped down his drink and then loudly proceeded to put the glass down on the table.

"It's because of all the people. It's impossible to find _anyone_ here", lightening a cigarette he inhaled once or twice until he realized that he was suppose to stop smoking. This seemed to only worsen his mode. And he had gotten so far to! He had made it for two days strait!

"Seriously man. Did you get in a fight or something"? Katsu snatched the cigarette from his friend and squashed it in the small ashtray, courtesy of the bartender seeing their need for it.

"I hate crowds! They're all pushing and throwing drinks right and left" The death of his smoke, that was just an innocent bystander really, made him feel a little sad, but damn it if it wasn't for his own good.

"Uh-uh. But why did you guys fight? Was it over a girl? Was she hot"? He leaned closer, eager to hear all the details.

"And as if that isn't enough, one of them tried to _kill_ me when someone had thrown a beer or something in his face! I just had to go outside to see if maybe she'd gone to get some air, and there he was"!

"Hey! I'm practically bouncing on my chair here! Was she hot? I need to know"…!

"There was no girl! Get a grip, Katsu! Focus!! I am trying to tell you a story over here", Kichiro said with a hurt and whiny voice.

Raising his hands in an apoplectic gesture he sounded rather offended when he replied "I just wanted to know! But fine. If you want me to shut up then go ahead and tell your _girl free_ story"

"You should have seen him! He was big like a bear and had a tattoo on his arm! It was horrible. He was a _brute _I tell you! A brute looking for _blood_"! He empathized this bit by hitting the counter with his fist, making his glass jump ever the slightest.

"Sound dangerous, man. I keep on telling you not to keep eye contact if they are bigger than you"

"It was still in a bandage, but it was still scary. And I didn't even look him in the eye. I was staring at his chest".

"…I though he was a man"

"He was a man! He was just that tall"

He paused and leaned down on his chair with tired eyes and sighed. "You know what, Katsu? I'm pretty sure we lost her".

Katsu looked pale at that thought. If they had lost her that meant that that _thing_ currently loose in their apartment was terrorizing and wrecking terror in the future as well as in the present.

"We can't give up. We have to find her".

"Katsu… I appreciate your spirit, but we must accept defeat".

"No, I can't do that"! Abruptly rising from his chair he ignored the clatter when it crashed to the floor "If we don't find her, then that means that the two of us will never get our lives back. We will never wake up saying 'hey, I want to do nothing today', and we will never be able to have pets, clean shirts, or have a decent meal ever again! As if that wasn't bad enough, we will never be able to bring over women to our apartment …."taking a huge breath he almost yelled in his ear "Kichiro, we are _never _getting laid again"!

His breathing became erratic as he finished his speech with his final argument, "And blue balls hurt"!

This statement made several people to turn in their chairs to have a better look at the pair. Some girls were giggling in a sickening way that spoke volumes on how pathetic but entertaining they thought Katsu's and Kichiro's crisis was. The only one who didn't even bat an eye was the bartender who was busy showing of by throwing bottles in the air.

Kichiro had enough by now.

He had his home wrecked by a mentally instable experiment created by his father, that was constantly whining about food, he had his makeup smeared over his face making him look like a clown, he had almost gotten beaten to death by a giant Viking with a short fuse, the world was laughing at him, and on top on it all, the one person who could make it better, the one woman who could at least make part of his life a little better, was gone.

But in the end, the one thing that kept on echoing in his head was "_never getting laid again_"…

Staring up at his friend a spark of determination lit up in his dark eyes.

" Katsu, to fail is not an option".

"Now there's the Kichiro I know"!

"…Katsu…can we go in pairs this time"?

"Yes we can, Kichiro. Yes we can".

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Unbeknownst to them, if they chose to look past the first four or five people and into the dancing mass, next to the lady dressed in red with a false laughter, and the lean man dancing with her, they would see _her_. The woman they had spent over an hour looking for.

They would see the scantily dressed woman who never realized that her dress had hiked up her tights a bit. And that was probably because she was to busy paying attention to what the man at her back was currently indulging himself in.

The man himself had a strange, alarmingly content smile on his face.

His light brown locks fell loosely over his eyes, but they couldn't hide the victory that shone in them.

In his world that woman was already his and no other existed in the room.

"So do you feel like dancing with me"? His voice asked huskily, blowing a few strands of her hair to tickle her neck.

Trying to turn her head to look at him, she was in a very awkward angle, but it was well worth it. "Hojo"?

Surprised eyes stared back at him and he had to suppress a chuckle when she blushed at the tightening of his arm over her abdomen.

"I just saw you dancing all by yourself, and I wondered, why on earth the sexiest thing to ever set foot in this club, swaying her hips, just begging for a dance partner, would be all alone? And I decided that ignoring this would be a crime. So here I am to solve the problem".

Kagome blushed, but still tried to smile politely on reflex. "Oh, well you see I'm not all that good at…"

She stopped talking when she heard him laugh a dark low rumble just inches from her ear, just so that she could feel the warm puffs again her inner ear shell. At the same time he slid his fingers up to her belly and pressed down with light pressure, creating a strange tingling sensation in her stomach. Honestly, she couldn't tell if this was a good or a bad thing.

"You know, Kagome, if you want me to…I could teach you". His fingers glided over her stomach and stopped right under her breast, leaving a burning trail on her skin.

Feeling her face flush even further she hastily blurted out, "What? Oh, no you see that is not necessary! I'm a terrible dancer. Lets just go to the table over there and-"

She never had the chance to finish the sentence as he all of a sudden decided that he was done with this conversation . He spun her out of his arms and reeled her in again, making her scream in surprise as she slammed into his side.

"You think to much. Just relax".

"I have two left feet! So please- "!

She found her self in the corner of the dance floor faster than she eye could follow as he almost threw her over there in his hurry.

'_So you thought you could dance, huh?'_

Her head was spinning and she was very sure that she was cross-eyed by now. Her stomach was shocked by the whole experience and make this fact known by sending up a messenger. Her throat burned and she swallowed the sickenly sweet lump formed in her throat.

When she came out of the spinning from hell, that practically had her flying, she tried to find her footing but the alcohol made her stumble right into a couple at her side.

Hojo made a grab for her but was a tad to late. He had no other choice than to hear a woman's outraged scream, after Kagomes, not all that graceful attempt at a crash landing. Resulting in both her own and the unknown woman's fall to floor.

'_Is the world supposed to keep on spinning like that?'_

"Oh, gosh, I am so sorry! I didn't mean to do that"… Kagome smoothened her black dress before bending down and offering her hand to the girl in red, ignoring all the stares they were receiving from the people present. But the woman on the floor just gave her a hard glare "What the hell do you think you are doing, huh"? She asked and almost growled as she spat out the angry words, her long dark locks dancing with her breath.

"I'm sorry. But you are alright…right"? Kagome was struggling to keep the room from reeling, and her stomach was not helping with keeping down the nausea.

'_Perfect time to get motion sickness'_

People were laughing and talking amongst themselves, standing in a circle around them. Some of them decided that it wasn't worth their party time and walked away from the scene. Others remained and looked on, no shame what so ever. Kagome found herself irritated, nervous and feeling sick. This did not bode well.

She struggled to keep the lump in her throat to stay down. But she was so nervous it only seemed to get worse. She didn't like being the center of attention, and she hated how everyone was watching her every move.

The woman didn't accept the hand Kagome offered but got up on her own, all the while trying to give her the glare of death.

Hojo shoved people out of the way like a bulldozer and was quickly by Kagomes side "She said she was sorry, alright"? He flung his arm over her shoulder and pulled her to his side in a protective manner.

Kagome hadn't noticed until now, but he was leaning onto her with practically all his weight and seemed to have a problem standing straight. '_I so do NOT need this… I-…I think I'm gonna throw up'._

"Sorry doesn't cut it, loverboy".

Hojo raised his eyebrows at that comment but said nothing.

"Do you have any idea how much this dress cost me"?

Kagome gave her the once over and gave her conclusion "Well, I couldn't have been _that _much". Startled at her own words she slapped her hand over her mouth.

The crowed all gave a "_Ooooh"_ sound at that comment making the woman go beat red in embarrassment.

"What did you just _say_"? She fumed as she crossed her arms over her chest. Her glare was intensifying by the second. Kagome was almost considerating screaming "sit", just to see what would happen.

"You know, that dress is just lovely, and it doesn't seem to be ripped, there is no weird stains on it, and all is right in the world". Hojo was quick to add after Kagomes insult.

"So lets just forgive and forget, okay"? He held out his hand and waved good bye as he made a attempt to gracefully walk away without having to witness another bar fight. It was enough with the one he just got out of, he didn't need another. All he wanted now was a little time with Kagome. Now that he had the courage to act the way he never dared to even think about in the past.

Kagome stumble next to him as he made his way past the various faces watching them go, all the while stealing glances behind her to see it the now sputtering woman would make an attempt to follow.

But it was rather hard to turn her head now with a heavy man on her shoulder. He still carried a soft, oddly content smile on his face. The one he so often carried in their younger days when he would leave her weird gifts at school. Lately, he hadn't left her any health gifts.

Instead, he had dropped her invitations. She didn't usually accept them. And now she started to wish she had rejected this one as well.

There seemed to be a small problem, and she must admit that she had no idea how to solve it. He wasn't acting very…_Hojo._

And this made her _very_ uneasy.

When he led her to the dark table in the more private section she plopped down on her chair and felt herself stiffen. Hojo just seemed to slump down on his chair as he practically laid on the table with his long arms. He stared at her in a weird way, making her nervous. "What are you looking at"?

"You", he answered.

"Could you please stop doing that"? She fidgeted on her seat, staring at her lap, "It makes me feel…"

"You know, I am so glad that you came tonight", He interrupted, straightening a bit, but still only half way sitting property in his chair.

"Huh"?, She looked up from her lap and her hands that twisted nervously, and saw him smile at her in a very disturbing manner.

He was the one to break eye contact as he found a interesting candy rapper on the table to play with.

"Well, we were getting worried for you. You never go anywhere. We were afraid that you would stay at home and knit or something again".

'_Is he blushing?'_

"I don't knit…", She started to protest but he ignored her and exclaimed, "And before you know it, you would be old and gray and you would have missed your whole youth"!

'_He is blushing!'_

"Haha, well I'm here now so…um…well I-", Her mind went blank as she tried to come up with something to say. Hojo glanced up from his play with the rapper to watch her gape like a fish. "I know. But you know what I mean, right"?

"I guess"

'_I have no idea what he is saying'_

"Good! But hey", his whole body language changed as he went from boneless-mass-of-man, to military-back-straight-as-an-arrow-man, "I've got something to ask you".

Determent. That was how you would describe his face. Or intimidating depending on who you ask. "Yes"?

"This weekend, you and me, at the movies"

"That sounded more like a command than a question", She laughed nervously.

"Hmm"? He scratched his head, "Yeah, maybe it was".

'_I don't want to, I don't want to, I don't want to!'_

The gods must have heard her desperate screams and pleas for help. Fore they decided to send an angel to their table. "There you are"! Eri dragged a chair from the neighboring table and sat between the two. "I've been looking everywhere for you guys! I mean, geez"!

"Eri"! It was hard for Kagome to hide her suddenly happy demeanor as she gave Eri a smile big enough to split her face, happy to not be alone with Hojo, she radiated relief with every atom of her being.

"Hi, Kagome…you seem…up"

Cracking her knuckles, a bad habit gained from years of watching Inuyasha do the same, she eased her grin and gave her a wink "Just happy to see a friendly face, you know"?

Hojo, who up till now had been playing with a plastic wrapper abandoned on the table, looked up at that comment with a somewhat hurt expression. "Aren't I friendly"?

"Very friendly. You are the friendliest _friend _of them all", Kagome reassured him and patted his hand.

They all turned when they heard Eri squeak in surprise before her brain progressed and recognized the sound as her cellphone.

Flipping it open she read the message, shock her head and looked wearily over at the two.

"I'm sorry to ruin the party, but it seems one of ours needs a little assistance".

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"No no! It's okay! I'm not using the bathroom, I'm just hiding from the guy who bought me this drink", Yuka said to assure the ones standing in line to use the stall she was occupying.

She had been sitting on the toilette for what seemed to be hours with her drink, that was now half empty. Or was it half full? And no, she did not find it strange that she was spending her free time in the public bathroom. She had been bored but to drunk to care. But them people started to pound on her door. "Hello? Is anybody in there?"

She had been annoyed at first, but ignored it and decided that is was but a small disturbance in her little wonderfully small stall of wonders. Filled with alcohol and entertaining writings on the walls.

She was just about to start reading something about a certain Kite and his famous as. There was a lot of writing on the subject. She was so engulfed, that she almost dropped her glass in fright when they tried to open her door by force. She was afraid that the door would come of it hinges. "You have been there for an hour! What are you doing in there"?

"Go away!"

Muttering and shuffling of feet could be heard as a door opened in the background. "What seems to be the problem?" A dark manly voice asked.

"She's been in there for an hour!" More shouting could be heard from the women now about to pee their pants. At least that's what Yuka though, why else would they have such shrill voices?

A clearing of a throat and a small knocking on her door alerted her that there was trouble around the corner. "This club has a non tolerance rule to drugs, ma'm", she heard a cool male voice say.

She felt rather silly, but this wasn't the first time she felt stupid in her life, and it probably wasn't going to be the last. "I have zero tolerance to men visiting the girls bathroom", she was quick to answer.

"We had some complaints, so I'm here to check out the problem. Just doing my job. Now _open_- _the_- _door_."

"I'm not on drugs! I promise!", she replied a little to merrily for the occasion.

He cleared his throat, "Ma'm, I need you to open the door"

"Uh, my… I called somebody. A friend! She should be here any minute now"

More shuffling could be heard. Somebody flushed in the stall next to her, the door creaked as the woman opened the door and excused herself. There was a slight pause outside her stall as the enraged women that had stood in line for over an hour, wondered who's turn it was. It had been so long, and they had moved around so much, that no one seemed to recall.

He cleared his throat again and said in a lower voice "What is her name?"

'_Shit! Who did I call again?' _"Uh…well you see, either it was my friend Eri…or it could have been Kagome."

"Which one was it?"

"Um, I'm not sure…Could be Eri. Kagome doesn't go out much." She lowered her voice and whispered to him a secret "We dragged her out of the house you see. I think she needs a man. Her boyfriend was a two-timer you see. He was no good for her at all!"

The sound of a key could be heard in her lock "I'm coming in now, ma'm"

"NO! Don't come in! I'm on the toilette!"

The door that was just about to be opened, stopped. He hesitated, cleared his throat and asked "Ma'm…Could you please step out of the stall?"

He sounded so calm and almost pleading. Her logic tried to make the gears to move, and finally she concluded that her drink was not worth spending an evening in a bathroom, arguing with a man while hearing the snickers in the background.

Getting up, she realized her leg had fallen asleep. She opened the door and staggered out while slapping her thigh, trying to wake it. The man came into view, a guy in about his thirties working as a guard with steel gray eyes and black hair. She smiled at him apologetically. "Hello"

Wow, he looked a little annoyed. With his arms crossed like that and his hard eyes, it was hard not to feel like he thought you were irritatingly silly, and wasting his precious time.

A woman standing behind him sighed and strode towards the stall, pushing her aside and slamming the door behind her. She quickly finished her business not caring how loudly she did it, flushed, and angrily reappeared, slamming the door as she went. As she strode past the line of women, she left an unpleasant smell in the air that everyone ignored in an attempt to be civilized. Instead they argued with each other about who was next in line. And they did so with mean stares and hard jabs in the ribs.

The man standing in front of Yuka steeled himself on the spot, nostrils flaring wildly as he tried to ignore the putrid smell, as well as the "arguing" going on behind him. One problem at the time. That was his working tactic for tonight. Her didn't find the energy to waste on the stupid women around him. Frankly, he just wanted his shift to end so that he could go home and nurse his ever growing headache.

He focused his cold eyes on her again when she coughed, staggered, tried to brace both her feet on the ground, failed miserably, and in the end, almost fell over to land by his feet.

Rolling his eyes he decided she needed his assistance. He grabbed her shoulder to steady her but almost backed away again when she looked like she was going to puke. Yuka just swallowed the bile and looked up at him. Then she looked at his hand, currently on her shoulder.

"Um, so you could just like…you know. And I will be over here".

"Not so fast".

She froze on the spot. Staring up on him, she clasped her hands before her, waiting for him to continue. "Did you take anything"? Stupid teens. Why did they have to be so difficult? Was it so hard to stay home and watch reruns, or play ball or something?

"No"

He didn't buy it. She looked to innocent. In the end, no one was truly innocent.

He exhaled loudly from his nose, making his nostrils flare again, rolled his eyes and reached for his right pocket. He took out a small flashlight, but just then the door opened, "YUKA"!

"ERI! Thank god you're here! He was going to probe me with that thing!"

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The gang made their way out of the club, which Kagome silently vowed, never to set foot in again, and huddled together in the cold night to save some warmth. It was raining, but not so much that you got drenched. Just enough to ruin your makeup and smear your mascara. It created a stinging sensation in her eyes and she blinked repeatedly to sooth it.

They weren't the only ones looking for a cab. A small crowd was gathered on the sidewalk. Some in groups, others in pairs. Everyone turned their heads every time they heard a car, hoping it would be a their cab, ready to take them home. Or to a cozy hotel.

Kagome was wondering where they would go now. Could she go home now? She really wanted to sleep in her own bed.

Ayumi had vanished into thin air. Surprisingly enough, no one seemed to worry about it. Eri had said something about an american, but Kagome was still worried. She didn't like the thought of leaving anyone behind. Well, okay, if Hojo had disappeared with a foreigner...

Eri and Yuka giggled as they mumbled more to themselves than to each other "_Probe me" _repeatedly while Hojo tried to catch a taxi, every once in a while, stealing a glance at her.

He looked a little down. Even his calls of "Taxi!", sounded half hearted. She couldn't help but to wonder if it was because of her comment in the club. At least he wasn't hanging on her shoulder anymore. Which was on the plus side.

"Taxi! Taxi!" Yuka joined in as she flailed her arms in an attempt to get the drivers attention. He obediently complied and stopped by the sidewalk.

Hurriedly scurrying over to the backseat, Yuka called out "C'mon you guys! It freezing!", and everyone trudged along, relieved to finally be on their way.

"Where to?", the driver asked when the kids finally closed the doors and settled in. Well, settled in as good as you could when you were in a old and funny smelling cab. Hojo discretely opened a window. No one tried to stop him.

"Sunset shrine, please!"

"What? No! NO! My mom lives there!", Kagome intervened with desperation in her voice. She did so not need this!

"Well, duh!", Yuka made a face at her before explaining, "My moms new boyfriend was suppose to come to visit today. So I don't think she would be happy to see us home just yet."

"Yeah, sorry, Kagome. But we can't crash at my place either. My parents never noticed me leaving…If you catch my drift." Eri almost sounded sorry. Almost.

"But… What if she's sleeping? I don't want to wake her up in the middle of the night."

"Don't worry, Kagome. We'll behave"., Hojo's smile was supposed to be comforting, but it did nothing to ease the feeling in her stomach.

"Yep, we'll be good!", Yuka intoned with a smug smile. She had won this one.

"C'mon! I don't have all day", The driver snapped in a gruff manner to get their attention.

"Sunset shrine" Yuka said with a loud voice.

"Oh, the one with the enormous tree?", He turned a little so that he could see Yuka's face.

"That's the one", She beamed at him.

"I used to go there with my father when I was a kid. I know the place.". And with that he turned to the wheel.

Still standing in the rain were two figures watching them as they drove off. With dark wet bangs hanging over their eyes, they peered at it with intense interest.

Their brown color lit up as a sly smile spread over Kichiro's face. "Katsu… Did you see what I saw? And if so, are you thinking…what I'm thinking?"

"Well that depends, Kichiro. Did you hear what I heard?"

"Lets follow them"

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I'm sorry. I know I'm slow at updating. I just couldn't find the motivation. But when I started to get into it, it got fun.

It feels like its hacking a bit. Maybe it was to much? I wanted to show you guys that a lot is going on, not only for Kagome, but for her friends as well. It is for a contrast later on.

I just need to get going.

Oh yeah! If you're wondering what's up with Hojo… Guys usually get braver when they have indulged. But in the end, their true color always shines the brightest. Thus his shyness won this battle. And don't worry! Inuyasha and the gang will enter the story soon!

I'll try to get a better flow in the next chapter. It would really help if you gave some tips. And also, I'm from Sweden, so if some phrasings are weird…you know why. Thanks for reading!


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